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Learning to Drive to the Max at the Porsche Sport Driving School

Monday, 06 August 2012 06:00Written by Brandy Schaffels

Freeway traffic and frustration over how long it takes to travel even short distances are a common topic of discussion among most commuters. Even more familiar is the common desire to just get out on the open road and experience some real driving. Secretly, I think many commuters wish to be racecar drivers; their automotive fantasy is to safely experience true driving performance without fear of endangering other drivers -- or getting a speeding ticket along the way.

It doesn't matter whether you drive a fuel-efficient economy car (like I do) or a sporty performance car (like the one I wish I owned), if you spend as much time on crowded roadways as most Los Angelenos or Atlantans, I know you wish you could just get out of the bumper-to-bumper traffic and onto the open road. Throw that shifter into high gear, add in a few curves and some extra scenery, and we're talking car driving heaven.

A recent opportunity to attend the Two-Day High-Performance Driving Course at Porsche Sport Driving School fulfilled a lifelong dream to experience two exhilarating days on the track, piloting a true high-performance sports car at its limits (or more honestly, at mine). Unlike other half-day track media experiences, my two days at the Porsche Driving School gave me hours and hours of driver-seat track time and more than 60 high-speed laps around the highly technical 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park which, thanks to steep elevation changes, 16 corners, two blind crests that made me wish I was a little taller, a corkscrew, and a couple hairpin turns, is like nothing you'll ever navigate under ordinary conditions.

The days were rounded out by additional opportunities to drive on a wet skidpad to learn how to control a car when the road is slippery, laps around a short course to learn how braking and weight transfer affect vehicle handling, as well as timed laps around the sporty autocross track for an opportunity to compete against the other participants for the fastest and safest laps. Each module was intended to give drivers valuable information about car control techniques that make sense on the racetrack as well as on regular roads.

As clinical as all this may sound, very little compares to the adrenaline rush that comes from flattening out the gas pedal to hear the roar of a Porsche's engine as it accelerates at full power, or the delightful squeal the tires make when cornering at the edge of their grip.

When it's all said and done, you don't have to be a race driver to use these experiences to improve your everyday driving. While it is possible to hit speeds as high as 100 mph in the straightaways and maneuver through turns as fast as 60 to 70 mph, the true goal is not just to go fast, it's also to learn how to drive safely and smoothly, while becoming more aware of your surroundings and understanding what your car is capable of handling. Safety is always the highest priority.

In fact, more than 12,000 students have participated at the Porsche Sport Driving School over the last 12 years, all of them leaving the course feeling much more capable and confident in everyday situations.

In the Cars and on the Track

What did we drive? Right now, Porsche Sport Driving School participants are among the first consumers in the United States to drive the brand-new 2013 Porsche Boxster S -- which at the time of our class, wasn't even on sale yet in the United States -- on the autocross and on the track. I admit, I am biased towards small, fast convertibles, so it shouldn't surprise anybody when I say this car is just about perfect: The lovely rear-wheel-drive 2013 Porsche Boxster S is powered by a 315-horsepower/3.4-liter boxer engine mated to your choice of standard six-speed manual transmission or optional seven-speed PDK transmission. The high-performance Boxster S promises acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in as fast as 4.5 seconds, a top speed as fast as 173 mph, and even with all that power, still boasts fuel economy of 21 city, 30 highway and 24 combined with PDK. All that for about $61,000 including destination.

We also drove the super sexy Porsche Carrera S on the track and on the skidpad, the Cayman S in braking and handling exercises, and had seat time in the Cayenne S on the offroad course. Participants can drive these vehicles with traditional manual transmissions if they prefer shifting with a clutch, or with the high-tech Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) dual-clutch automatic manual transmission with steering-wheel paddle shifters, if you don't drive stick.

Day One at The Porsche Sport Driving School

On day one, we gathered for continental breakfast at the track, and participants shared their prior track/driving experience as well as what they hoped to learn over the next couple days. Attendees ranged across the board from some who had club racing backgrounds to one gentleman who had zero racing background but was there because he (as he put it), "recently bought his first Porsche, and his wife wanted to be sure he knew how to drive it safely." Only a few attendees actually already owned Porsche vehicles -- the rest of us were just high-performance driving wannabees, looking for a chance to drive hard and fast under safe, controlled conditions. (That would be me.)

After a brief classroom lesson discussing how tire grip is affected by the weight transfer caused by acceleration and braking, and an overview of the track, we were divided into small groups and sent to participate in one of four performance modules: autocross, performance driving and braking techniques, wet skidpad handling, and of course: full-speed on-track hotlaps. Part of this first day is as much about becoming familiar with the cars, the track, and the driving, as it is about getting to know your teammates. Exercises are taught in a fun way to help bring strangers with a variety of driving backgrounds together so that participants bond into friendly and supportive groups. We all rotated through these modules during the two days to gain familiarity with each aspect of the training, building to faster lap times on the track as our skills were refined.

The Instruction

In-class and on-track courses are taught by actual race drivers, who provide helpful guidance mixed with delightful humor to keep the instruction informative and entertaining. Chief driving instructor Hurley Haywood is a Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee, whose most impressive racing credentials include five wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona, three at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and two at the 12 Hours of Sebring, but all the instructors come with amazing racing pedigrees. Of the many instructors I interacted with over my two-day course, I found all of them to be helpful and patient, but most of all, fun and engaging. They know their stuff, and they teach it in a way that made it easy for us to learn from them. Just ask Daniel Eastman about the "natives" that live around the offroad course, if you don't believe me.

Our first few laps around the track were taken not in a Porsche but in a van full of students, while the driver explained the turns, identified the braking points, and demonstrated the proper line to take from turn to turn. And after that introduction to the track, each student drove alone in a follow the leader format that gave every participant a chance to follow directly behind the instructor. Speeds gradually increased as students became more comfortable with the driving line.

I confess: I was anxious when I climbed behind the wheel of the Porsche Carrera S for my first laps alone. "What if I miss a turn? What if I spin out or drive off the track? What if I look like an idiot? What if I HIT somebody?" Yes, I worried about every possible negative outcome.

None of that happened.

In fact, after my first day of racing, I was frustrated because I didn't feel that I was going as fast as I wanted to go (and I didn't like being the slowest driver in the pack).

Day Two at The Porsche Sport Driving School

At last, when I hit the track on the second day, instructor Richard Hull took a ride in my passenger seat where he helped identify what I was doing wrong: He told me I needed to "accelerate longer, don't lift in anticipation of braking, then brake harder." It was an "aha" moment that completely changed my driving technique on the second day (and improved my entire experience), because it is so different from what we're taught when we're trying to earn our driver's licenses. Nobody ever told me to accelerate longer and brake harder. Until now.

But, the next-best piece of coaching came from the instructor who told us, "Use your personal guidelines -- like your heartrate -- to know when you've hit your limit." After my driving technique revelation, I felt extremely confident. But I also knew I had to listen to my heartrate so I wouldn't accelerate so much longer that I'd get into trouble by braking too late into the turns. (Nobody wants to be that person who takes a car off the track. Forget concerns about safety; it's just plain embarrassing.)

So What Did I Take Away From the School?

Well, aside from a flash drive documenting my last laps of the event and a burning desire to go back to attend the next level, I learned that becoming a better driver does not necessarily mean being a faster driver. I wasn't among the fastest drivers on the track, but I knew I had great lines through the turns, and had made a significant improvement over my skills from the previous day.

As much as I enjoyed the opportunity to drive fast on the track (which was my original reason for wanting to attend), I also learned how to drive better in a variety of different road conditions (such as how to stay in control on slippery roads, or when avoiding obstacles in the road), and how to better utilize the handling and performance of the cars I was driving (have you ever felt your own car's ABS or stability control functions when they kick in?). These are lessons much better learned under safe, controlled circumstances.

Ultimately, attending the school has made me a safer, more confident driver… and that's what really matters, isn't it?

Five Things I Learned

1) You go where you look. If you're driving faster, look farther ahead.
2) Driving better doesn't mean driving faster, nor does driving faster mean you're a better driver.
3) Trust your instincts. If conditions make you nervous, slow down.
4) Don't overreact. Sometimes only a small response is all that's needed.
5) Don't crash faster. If it's an emergency and you need to brake, brake hard with both feet.

Interested in Attending?

Find out more about attending the Porsche Sport Driving School by visiting their website at PorscheDriving.com Classes are ongoing and include one-day Precision courses ($1,800), two-day High-Performance courses ($3,200), and three-day Master's courses ($5,700). I attended the two-day course and was one of two women along with about 30 men; when I asked the other woman how she felt about participating alongside all the guys, she said she didn't notice them. And honestly, I felt they were all quite courteous and supportive of my presence as well.

For women who might prefer to be in a class without men, Porsche also offers a "Women's Only" class designed exclusively for women drivers. What's different about the "Women's Only" course? Very little! Bathroom breaks are a little longer, but the instruction is the same: only the attendees are different. According to one instructor, "Women participants are more open-minded and more receptive to instruction." Prodded further, he explained, "Women are better students. They ask more questions and respond to correction without interference from their egos." (Amen, brother.) Another instructor told me the women's groups tend to be more supportive of each other, encouraging and cheering their teammates much more enthusiastically than the men's groups, who tend to be more competitive. The next one is September 5-6, 2012, so if this sounds interesting, call to make your reservations right away!